Whereas store-bought salad dressing is an simple comfort, it is also a frequent salad-killer—there’s simply no evaluating a bottled French dressing to , primary do-it-yourself one. To save lots of myself the effort of getting to whip up dressing after I’m hungry, I at all times hold a batch of my favourite lemon French dressing available. However I additionally go one step additional and hold it in a squeeze bottle, able to go.

It’s not simply any squeeze bottle, although: It’s one which I label with a marker to point how a lot oil and acid I ought to add. This protects me from having to drag up a recipe and soiled measuring cups; after I’m able to make a brand new batch every week, all I’ve to do is wash and dry the bottle, use the markings on the it to measure out a brand new batch of French dressing, then shake all of it collectively.

Marking certainly one of these labeled squeeze bottles is a fast and straightforward two-minute trick that may prevent time every week. For a easy French dressing, you’ll need to use three components oil to 1 half vinegar. To correctly mark the bottle, first measure your vinegar and add it to the squeeze bottle, utilizing a everlasting marker to attract a line on the skin of the bottle on the high of the vinegar stage. Subsequent, with the vinegar nonetheless within the bottle, measure and add the oil, marking the oil stage as nicely. It is useful to do the vinegar first after which the oil, as a result of that is how they settle attributable to their differing densities.

If wanted, you may scribble salt, pepper, and mustard on the backside as a reminder so as to add them, however since their portions are so small, there isn’t any technique to mark their whole quantity on the bottle the best way you’d with vinegar and oil. When you fill the bottle with the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and mustard, simply shake it to mix all the pieces. 

Whereas this can be a baseline recipe for French dressing, you may swap a number of the elements to your liking. (Too little mustard, although, could lead to a dressing that received’t emulsify as nicely.) Experiment with oils like avocado, olive, or grapeseed, and vinegars like balsamic, sherry, white wine, or apple cider. You’ll be able to add seasonings like dried oregano to provide your French dressing Italian aptitude, in addition to aromatics like very finely minced shallots and garlic. (In case you’re together with these chunkier elements, be sure the tip of your squeeze bottle is giant sufficient for them to come back out of, snipping off the highest with a pair of scissors to enlarge it.) 

Additionally notice that including elements like garlic to the French dressing considerably reduces its shelf life, taking it from kind of shelf-stable even at room temperature all the way down to only some days within the fridge. That is as a result of garlic can produce botulism toxins when saved in oil, whether or not refrigerated or not.

In case you’re not a fan of plastic, this will even work on a glass jar, however you’ll need to use an oil-based paint marker as an alternative of a everlasting marker. (Glass is a non-porous floor, making it tough for Sharpie ink to stick to.) In my expertise, a everlasting marker stays on plastic bottles however a paint marker adheres higher to the glass jar—however both method, you’ll need to wash every by hand so the markings don’t fade. If fading does happen, you may at all times reapply the markings. 

As soon as assembled within the marked bottle, the French dressing might be refrigerated for weeks and weeks if it solely accommodates vinegar, oil, mustard, salt, and pepper, however only some days if it accommodates garlic and different botulism-prone elements. It makes meal prep a breeze—and can guarantee your salads usually are not simply good however spectacular.